Ankle Resistance Bands

ABSTRACT

An ankle resistance band for strengthening the muscles of the lower leg and ankle. These muscles, of which there are ten, originate in the lower leg, pass the ankle joint by means of tendons which act like strong control cords and connect to bones within the foot. They are responsible for the “take off” in each step. By strengthening these muscles users will enjoy increased athletic performance and reduced chance of injury. The inventive device includes an elastic cord having a first end and a second end, an ankle cuff attached to the first end of the cord, and a shoelace hook attached to the second end of the cord. The elastic cord is a stretchable tubing having a first end and a second end. The ankle cuff is an adjustable holding strap that can be adjustably fitted above the ankle of the foot which is being exercised. The shoelace hook is a curved rigid member having one or more thin prongs that can be hooked to the shoelace of an athletic shoe.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an exercise device and more specifically it relates to an ankle resistance band for strengthening the muscles of the lower leg and ankle. These muscles, of which there are ten, originate in the lower leg, pass the ankle joint by means of tendons and connect to bones within the foot. They are responsible for the “take off” in each step. By strengthening these muscles users will enjoy increased athletic performance and reduced chance of injury. The ankle joint itself is extremely strong yet very unstable. It is for this reason that most ankle sprains occur. By strengthening the involved muscles, one significantly reduces the possibility of ankle sprain and fracture. This invention also has rehabilitation features that can aid in the recovery from a broken or sprained ankle. It will facilitate a progressive rehabilitation through a gradual strengthening program, by the use of progressively stronger bands to resist the exercise motives.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

It can be appreciated that exercise devices for the legs have been in use for years. Typically, these exercise devices are comprised of ankle weights, resistance bands, or exercise machines. The main problem with most conventional exercise devices is that they exercise the legs but do little to resist the muscles of the ankle. Ankle weights, for example, primarily exercise the muscles of the leg. Resistance bands are offered in a variety of configurations including ones that connect between the ankles. However these are designed to target muscles other than those of the lower leg and ankle.

The remaining existing exercise devices that do exercise the muscles of the ankle cannot be practically used during running, walking, or other common forms of exercise. Many of these devices prevent the user from wearing an athletic shoe. U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,722 describes such a device that requires an elastic sock to be worn without a shoe. The device described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,161 comprises a nylon strap that encircles the wearer's shoe beneath the ball of the foot and attaches to a surgical hose that in turn attaches to a rigid member just below the knee. Since the strap runs under the sole of the shoe, it would directly contact the surface of the floor if it were to be used while running or walking. This has the disadvantage of interfering with the grip and cushioning provided by the sole of the shoe and would therefore cause discomfort for the wearer. The strap also has the disadvantage of being subject to excessive wear as it contacts the floor. U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,499 describes a device that comprises a sling that is worn around the user's toe.

Another problem with conventional exercise devices is that they require additional exercises to be added to one's routine just to exercise the ankle. For example, in order for the user to benefit from the ankle exercise devices mentioned above they need to perform the specific exercises intended. While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for strengthening the muscles of the lower leg and ankle while running, walking, or engaging in many common forms of exercise.

In these respects, the ankle resistance band according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of strengthening the muscles of the lower leg and ankle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new ankle resistance band that has many of the advantages of the exercise devices mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new ankle resistance band which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art exercise devices, either alone or in any combination thereof.

To attain this, the present invention generally comprises an elastic cord having a first end and a second end, an ankle cuff attached to the first end of the cord, and a shoelace hook attached to the second end of the cord. The elastic cord is a stretchable tubing having a first end and a second end. The ankle cuff is an adjustable holding strap that can be adjustably fitted above the ankle of the foot which is being exercised. The shoelace hook is a curved rigid member having one or more thin prongs that can be hooked to the shoelace of an athletic shoe.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide an ankle resistance band that will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art devices.

An object of the present invention is to provide an ankle resistance band for strengthening the muscles of the lower leg and ankle. By strengthening these muscles, users will enjoy increased athletic performance and reduced chance of injury. In accordance with this invention, this objective is achieved by attaching an ankle cuff to the lower leg, attaching an elastic cord to the cuff and attaching the opposite end of the cord to an athletic shoe worn on the foot of the same leg via a shoelace hook. The elastic cord, which is available in various elasticity strengths, provides the resistance to the foot motions, and thus provides an inexpensive and self-contained mechanism for exercising and strengthening the ankle.

Another object is to provide an ankle resistance band that enables the user to strengthen their ankle and foot muscles while walking, running, or performing other common exercises. This invention is free of any bulky or heavy members and does not interfere with the wearing of athletic shoes. This allows the user to achieve the benefits of the added resistance provided by this invention without altering their current exercise regimen.

Another object is to provide an ankle resistance band that enables the user to increase their heart rate and calories burned during normal exercise by providing additional muscular resistance. The additional resistance requires that additional work be performed by the user's body, thereby burning more calories and increasing the heart rate.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ankle resistance band that will help to rehabilitate an injured ankle by the use of progressively stronger bands as part of a gradual strengthening program.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious to the reader and it is intended that these objects and advantages are within the scope of the present invention.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, the attached figures illustrate an ankle resistance band, which comprises an elastic cord having a first end and a second end, an ankle cuff attached to the first end of the cord, and a shoelace hook attached to the second end of the cord. The elastic cord is a stretchable tubing having a first end and a second end. The ankle cuff is an adjustable holding strap that can be adjustably fitted above the ankle of the foot which is being exercised. The shoelace hook is a curved rigid member having one or more thin prongs that can be slipped beneath the shoelace of an athletic shoe.

As shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 of the drawings, the elastic cord 20 is preferably a stretchable tubing having an upper end 26 and a lower end 28. Attached to the upper end 26 is a hook 42 which is held in place by a knot 22 in the elastic cord 20. Attached to the lower end 28 is the shoelace hook 40 which is held in place by knot 24. The elastic cord 20 may be comprised of various types and materials. Surgical hoses, nylon bungee cords, springs and rubber bands are some examples of suitable elastic cords. Hook 42 may also incorporate a spring clip if a more secure fastening is desired.

The ankle cuff is an adjustable holding strap that can be adjustably fitted above the ankle of the foot which is being exercised. As shown in the drawings, the ankle cuff 30 is fitted with a cooperating hook and pile tape sold under the trademark “VELCRO”. The ring 44 is held firmly to ankle cuff 30 by fabric strip 32 which is sewn to ankle cuff 30. As one alternative, the adjustable portion of the cuff 30 could be similar to a belt and buckle arrangement. As another alternative, cuff 30 could be fastened with a snap or series of snaps to allow adjustability. Finally, the cuff 30 could be elastic and therefore self-adjusting. Another variation of the ankle cuff 30 includes weights that are sewn into the cuff or otherwise attached. This would give an additional form of resistance for the exerciser.

The shoelace hook 40 is a curved rigid member having one or more thin prongs that hook to the shoelace 52 of an athletic shoe 50. The shoelace hook 40 could take various geometric forms. The only requirement being that it securely attaches to the shoe 50. One possible variation would be to use a single prong instead of the dual prong shown in the drawings. Many athletic shoes incorporate a loop for the shoelace near the toe and this may interfere with a single hook design. For this reason, the shoelace hook 40 preferably comprises two split prongs. Another variation would be to provide a means to thread the shoelaces through a fixed mass containing two or more holes for the shoelace(s) and a hole or ring for attaching the elastic cord.

As shown in the figures, the upper hook 42 of elastic cord 20 hooks to the ring 44 of ankle cuff 30. The length of the elastic cord 20 is such that it must be stretched for the shoelace hook 40 to reach the front of shoelace 52 of the athletic shoe 50. The shoelace hook 40 is hooked beneath the shoelace 52. Various alternative forms of hooks or clips could be used to connect the components of the invention. Optionally, bands of various spring constants could be offered to provide more or less resistance. An additional alternative would be to modify the shoelace hook so that more than one elastic cord could be connected to it. This would allow the user to increase resistance by connecting several cords between the shoelace hook and the ring of the ankle cuff.

The invention is best used in pairs whereby a user, wearing athletic shoes, straps an ankle cuff to the lower portion of each leg just above the ankles. The user attaches the elastic cord to the ankle cuff and stretches it to reach the toes of the shoe worn on the foot of the same leg. The user then hooks the shoelace hook to the shoelaces of each corresponding shoe. The user then walks, runs, or performs an exercise of their choice, and the invention provides resistance to the muscles of the lower leg. This resistance strengthens the muscles and increases the effectiveness of the chosen exercise by increasing the calories burned and the heart rate achieved.

As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. 

9. An exercise device, comprising: an ankle attachment means, a resistance band means for providing resistance to the flexure of the ankle of a user, a first connection means for attaching said resistance band means to said ankle attachment means, a second connection means for attaching said resistance band means to an athletic shoe worn by said user, whereby said exercise device causes the toes of said user to be pulled toward the leg of said user.
 10. The exercise device of claim 9 wherein said ankle attachment means is an ankle cuff worn by said user.
 11. The exercise device of claim 10 wherein said ankle cuff incorporates one or more weights.
 12. The exercise device of claim 10 wherein circumference of said ankle cuff is adjustable.
 13. The exercise device of claim 10 wherein said resistance band means is an elastic cord having a first end and a second end.
 14. The exercise device of claim 13 wherein said first connection comprises a loop sewn to said ankle cuff, and a hook tied to said first end of said elastic cord.
 15. The exercise device of claim 13 wherein said second connection comprises a hook tied to said second end of said elastic cord.
 16. A method of exercising a user's ankle, comprising: a. providing an ankle cuff, b. attaching said ankle cuff to ankle of said user, c. providing a loop sewn to said ankle cuff, d. providing an elastic cord with a first end and a second end, e. providing a hook tied to said first end of said elastic cord, f. attaching said hook to said loop sewn to said ankle cuff, g. providing a shoelace hook tied to said second end of said elastic cord, and h. attaching said shoelace hook to shoelace of a shoe worn by said user, whereby the toes of said user are pulled toward the leg of said user. 